Abuja , Nigeria -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A militant Islamist group claimed responsibility Monday for bombings the day before that the Nigerian Red Cross said left 50 people dead at three Christian churches in Nigeria .

Boko Haram said the attacks Sunday in the Nigerian cities of Zaria and Kaduna were retaliation on Christians for destroying mosques and , according to the group , turning others into `` beer parlour and prostitution joints . ''

`` Let them know that now it 's the time for revenge God willing , '' the group said in a statement . `` From now on , they either follow the right religion or there will be no peace for them . ''

Government and Red Cross figures on the death toll in Sunday 's attacks differed . However , the bombings at two churches and a third in Kaduna left at least 50 people dead and 131 wounded according to the Red Cross .

Kaduna state officials loosened a 24-hour curfew imposed after the attacks , saying people could be on the streets from 2 to 6 p.m. However , resident Anthony Majindadi said most people were staying indoors and his area still looked like a ghost town .

The series of attacks began when a suicide bomber drove at high speed through a barricade at the EWCA Goodnews Wusasa Zaria church around 9 a.m. , congregation member Lucy Bello said .

A Kaduna state official , who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media , said that blast killed at least 24 people and injured 125 .

The Nigerian Red Cross Society , however , reported that two people died and 22 were injured in the attack .

Within minutes , another explosion occurred at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Zaria , according to Nigeria 's National Emergency Management Agency .

At least 10 people died and more than 50 were injured in that attack , the state government official said .

Again , the Nigerian Red Cross Society offered a conflicting report , saying 16 people died and 31 were injured in the attack .

Later , at least 10 people died in a bombing at a church in the city of Kaduna , Red Cross spokesman Andronicus Adeyemo said .

The Red Cross said 32 people died and 78 were injured in the third blast and ensuing reprisal attacks by Christians on Muslims .

Christian youths in Zaria and Kaduna burned mosques and property belonging to Muslims , according to the Vanguard newspaper in Nigeria .

Military forces patrolled the streets Sunday in an effort to control retaliatory violence , the Vanguard reported .

Kaduna state spokesman Reuben Buhari asked residents Monday to remain calm and cooperate with security forces .

The bombings are the latest in a string of violence directed at Nigerian churches . A week ago , a car bomb killed five people during services at a church in Jos , also in northern Nigeria . Angry crowds wielding makeshift clubs fought with police after chasing security forces away from the destroyed church . Three more people died in the clashes .

And two weeks ago , two church bombings in the region killed at least 15 people .

Boko Haram has previously carried out attacks , including at churches , according to government officials .

The group , whose name means `` Western education is forbidden , '' has referred to itself as the `` Nigerian Taliban . '' It seeks to overthrow the government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law .

CNN 's Vladimir Duthiers and Nana Karikari-apau and journalist Safiya Akau contributed to this report .

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Militant Islamic group says it 's behind three attacks Sunday in cities of Zaria and Kaduna

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The attacks and retaliatory violence left at least 50 people dead , Red Cross says

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Boko Haram says the bombings were retaliation for attacks on mosques